NEW ORLEANS--Senior Emily Lipari (Greenvale, N.Y.) was recognized as a first team All-American in an announcement made by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Monday afternoon. Villanova received a total of two All-America honors for the outdoor season, with sophomore Angel Piccirillo (Homer City, Pa.) earning second team All-America distinction. Lipari and Piccirillo each competed for the Wildcats at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore. last week and advanced to the final of the 1500 meters.

Lipari came in fourth in the 1500 meters to record her highest career finish at the outdoor national meet. She produced a time of 4:19.60 in the final after winning her semifinal heat in 4:21.14 to automatically advance to the championship race. This is the second straight year that Lipari reached the final of her signature outdoor event and she improved on a 10th place finish one year earlier.

The outdoor track & field season concluded a sensational academic year for Lipari, who was the BIG EAST champion in the 800 meters and also anchored Villanova to a conference title in the 4x800 meter relay. Those performances at the BIG EAST meet helped the Wildcats win the conference team title for the ninth time in their history and for the first time in 14 years. Lipari also anchored three winning relays at the Penn Relays and, for the second straight year, was named the Women's Athlete of the Meet for the relay events. Villanova swept the distance relays and won Championship of America titles in the distance medley relay, the 4x1500 meter relay and the 4x800 meter relay. Lipari was selected as the Mid-Atlantic Region Athlete of the Year by the USTFCCCA.

Prior to the beginning of the outdoor season, Lipari was the national champion indoors in the Mile and also anchored the Wildcats to a ninth place finish nationally in the distance medley relay. She was the BIG EAST champion in the 1000 meters for the third straight year and set a meet record in the final, while also anchoring the victorious 4x800 meter relay. Lipari was the Most Outstanding Track Performer at the BIG EAST Championships and became the first conference athlete in 20 years to be a repeat winner of the award. She also became the first-ever three-time champion in the 1000 meters. Lipari was also an All-American during the cross country season with a fifth place finish at the national championships. She was the individual champion at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional and was named the Mid-Atlantic Region Athlete of the Year.

Including both individual events and relays, Lipari concluded her incredible collegiate career as a two-time national champion, 10-time All-American, 12-time BIG EAST champion and six-time Penn Relays champion.

Piccirillo also reached the final of the 1500 meters in her first individual appearance at a national championship. She recorded a time of 4:27.66 in the final and finished 12th overall to garner second team All-America recognition. Piccirillo came in fifth in her semifinal heat in 4:21.47 to join Lipari as automatic qualifiers in the championship race.

At the NCAA East Preliminary last month Piccirillo secured her spot at the national championships by running a lifetime best time of 4:15.16 in the national quarterfinals of the 1500 meters. That time put her fourth in her heat and seventh overall out of the competitors in the quarterfinals and secured an automatic qualifying spot for the national meet. Piccirillo was the BIG EAST runner-up in the 1500 meters and also ran a leg of the conference champion 4x800 meter relay at the BIG EAST meet. She was also a part of the Villanova wins in the 4x1500 meter relay and the 4x800 relay at the Penn Relays.

In just two seasons as a member of the Wildcats program, Piccirillo is already a three-time All-American, four-time BIG EAST champion and four-time Penn Relays champion.

Throughout its history Villanova has had 36 student-athletes combine to receive 77 All-America honors during the outdoor track & field season.

Live Results | Watch Live (Thursday) | Watch Live (Saturday) | Complete CoverageSenior Stephanie Schappert (Delray Beach, Fla.) and junior Angel Piccirillo (Homer City, Pa.) will compete at the NCAA Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. this week. Both middle distance runners are qualifiers in the 1500 meters and they will race on Thursday and Saturday evenings in the national meet. The men's portion of the meet takes place on Wednesday and Friday.

Live Results | Heat Sheets | Meet CentralCompetition gets underway at the NCAA East Preliminary on Thursday evening. Villanova has eight women's athletes competing at the meet, which is being held at Hodges Stadium on the University of North Florida campus.